Safety belt



R. E. DOWD March 27, 1945.

SAFETY BELT Filed Aug. 1'7,` 1943 2 Sheets-Shet l i?. EL [DCDVVED SAFETY BELT March 27, 1945..

l2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 17, 1943 Patented Mar. 27, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT/OFFICE SAFETY BELT Raymond E. Dowd, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 17, 1943, Serial No. 499,021

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in safety-belts.

One object of this .invention is to provide an improved safety-belt having a quick-release buckle which can be readily adjusted on the belt to bring it in a central position with regard to the person wearing the belt.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved safety-belt having a quick-release buckle and means for providing adjustment for the strap near the quick-release buckle and minimizing wear on the strap.

With the above and other objects in view,y as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the description and claims, the various parts and steps are identiedby specic names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as'the prior art will permit.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one Way of carrying out the present invention is shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a safety-belt made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale, of the central portion of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a front edge view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, illustrating the quick-release buckle in its released or open position; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the xed buckle-members forming part of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings showing the particular form of the invention chosen for illustration therein, the safety-belt I includes a quickrelease buckle II having a locking-lever I2 provided with an operating lhandle I3 and locking hook ends I4, the hook ends I4 being pivoted at I to hook ends or portions I6 of a link l I similar to the hook ends or portions I4 of the lockinglever I2. A link I8 has a locking-bar portion I9 adapted to be engaged by the hook portions I4 and I6 when in locking position, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The link I1 has a crossbar 2|) pivotally mounted in an eye-bar 2| of a buckle-member 22. The buckle-member 22 also has two crossbars 23 and 24 parallel to each other and spaced from each other by a space 25. The crossbars 23 and 24 are also parallel to the eye-bar 2| and spaced therefrom by a space 26 as best shown in Fig. 5.'

The link I8 has a crossbar 21 which is pivotally mounted in the eye-bar 2| of buckle-memberl 28 which is identical with the buckle-member 22.

A strap-member 29 is secured to the bucklemember 22 by passing a portion up through the opening or slot 25, over the crossbar 23 down through the slot or opening 26, around the eyebar 2|, over the strap-portion in contact with the top of the crossbar 23, and down through the slot between the crossbar 24 and the first described strap-portionextending up through the slot 25. This causes any pull upon the strap 29 to push the portion of the strap end 30 between it and the crossbar 24 up against the edge of the crossbar 24 and thus lock the strap 29 against coming out of its adjusted positions in the bucklemember 22. A stop-rivet 3| mounted in the end 30 of the strap 29 prevents the end 30 of the strap containing the rivet 3| from passing through the slot 25. The rivet 3| also serves to hold the U-shaped sheet-metal tip 32 onto the end of the belt with its opposite sheet-metal portions clamped against the opposite faces of the strap.

Inasmuch as the link I'I has its crossbar 2U pivoted within the eye-bar 2| of the buckle 22, all pivotal action between the members I'I and 22 takes place between the elements 2D and 2|, and thus avoids any rubbing or wearing action upon the strap-member 29 with absence of consequent wear on the latter. A strap or strap-member 33 similar to strap-member 29, is similarly connected to the buckle-member 28.

All buckles and links of the belt shown in the drawings are preferably made of metal and may be made of steel preferably having a rust-proof coating thereon. 'I'he strap-members 29 and 33 are of ilexible material, such for example, as woven fabric.

A loose tuck-loop 34 (Figs. 1 and 2) may be mounted adjacent each of the buckles 22 and 28 to hold the free upper ends of the straps close tol the main portion of the straps. The extreme end of each strap may be formed into a return-loop 35 having a portion stitched down as at 36 and the loop 35 may carry a metal or other loopmember 3l therein.

The loop-members 3l at the opposite'ends of the belt may be connected to any suitable location such as parts adjacent of a seat of a vehicle, such for example as artillery, aircraft, etc., in lwhich a person is sitting with the -belt passing in y front of him.

permits of shifting the adjusted positions of the straps in the .buckles 22 and 28 to bring the quickrelease buckle Il centrally of the person wearing the belt, to bring the buckle into the best position for quick release by the person wearing it.

The invention may be carried out in other specic ways than that herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiment is, therefore, to .be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A safety-belt, including: two links detachably connected together, and each link having a cross-bar; two buckle-members each having an eye-bar surrounding and pivoted to a said crossbar, and two cross-bars rigid with said eye-bar and spaced -from said eye-bar and from each other; and two flexible straps, each adjustably connected to a said buckle by extending through the space between the said two cross-bars, over the cross-bar nearest said eye-bar, through the space between said eye-bar and said nearest cross-banover said eye-bar, and through the space :between said two cross-bars and between the cross-bar most distant from said eye-bar and the irst-mentioned strap-portion which extends through the space between said two cross-bars.

2. A safety-belt, including: a link having a cross-bar; a buckle-member having an eye-bar surroundingand pivoted to said cross-bar, and two cross-bars rigid with said eye-bar and spaced from said eye-bar and from each other; and a flexible strap adjustably connected to said buckle .by extending through the space between the said two cross-bars, over the cross-bar nearest said eye-bar, through the space between said eye-bar and said nearest cross-bar, over said eye-bar, and through the space between said two cross-bars and between the cross-bar most distant from said eye-bar and the first-mentioned strap-portion which extends through the space between said two cross-bars.

3. A safety-belt, including: a link having a cross-bar; a .buckle-member having an eye-bar surrounding and pivoted to said cross-bar, and two cross-bars rigid with said eye-bar and spaced from said eye-bar and from each other; and a flexible strap having a load-end and a free-end and adjustably connected to said buckle by having its load-end extending through the space between the said two cross-bars, over the cross-bar nearest said eye-bar, through the space between said eye-bar and said nearest cross-bar and over said eye-bar, and having its free-end extending through the space between said two cross-bars and between the cross-bar most distant from said eye-bar and the portion of the load-end which extends through the space between said two cross-bars.

RAYMOND E. DOWD. 

